Localife Leaders

I was diagnosed with stage 3A Adenocarcinoma of the lung in 2009 at the age of 30. I had just started my career as an educator and essentially had to put everything on hold. The one thing that struck me during treatment was that I was always the youngest person in the room. I was desperate to find someone like me because even though my support system was incredible, I felt alone and completely isolated. That was when I sought out YACC.

I attended my first conference in the beautiful province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and knew I had found my tribe. In 2011, I had a recurrence and became a “lifer”; it was my fellow YACCers who helped me get through the initial shock and challenges. It was comforting knowing I had friend who really got it. I feel truly honoured to be chosen as the new Localife leader for Toronto and can’t wait to meet and connect with everyone.

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Hey Toronto! I’m a 26-year old Emergency Department Social Worker born and raised in Newfoundland, currently seeking out anything that smells like the ocean in this city. When I was 19, I was diagnosed with a type of tumour called Chordoma. It was sitting on my brain stem, which was really inconvenient. I was introduced to YACC shortly after I finished treatment, and I’ve been involved in one way or another ever since. I’m super excited to be able to jump into this role as one of your Localife Leaders.

Some of my happiest moments are when I’m with my dogs and my supportive partner, hiking, at the beach, eating, and laughing. Let’s see if we can incorporate some of these things into our events.